Flightless
by Shinju90
Summary: Human AU: When Ace Jameson woke up that morning, he had expected a fun evening at an amusement park, but that evening is quickly shattered. Now he is the target of a mad scientist and the newest member of a team of elite bodyguards. Summary inside. SLASH. ON HIATUS.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This story is a complete AU. All of the characters are humans and have always been humans. Skipper, Rico, and Kowalski do not know each other. Though they will shortly. Also just a warning, this story is **SLASH**, **shounen-ai**, **yaoi**, whatever you want to call it. So if that's not your cup of tea, please don't bother reading.

**This Chapter had been re-written since it was first posted! **

Summary: Human AU: When Ace Jameson woke up that morning, he had expected a fun evening at an amusement park, but that evening is quickly shattered. Now he is the target of a mad scientist, the newest member of a team of elite bodyguards, and he can't look at his new team leader without having to mentally slap himself. As if that wasn't bad enough his father has chosen the absolute worst time to try to become re-acquainted with his son.

Disclaimer: I don't own the penguins, they are the property of Dreamworks and Nickelodeon. I'm making no money from this fic. This will be the only chapter with a disclaimer. But it holds true for all chapters.

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Flightless

Chapter One

Anne Masters was smiling and laughing with her tutor, Ace Jameson, as the two ran from water slide to water slide. Skipper sat at one of the many pizza stands. His sapphire blue eye's following the teenage boy and child as they charged up the stairs of a long green slide. The boy didn't have a record and Anne's mother only had good things to say about him, but Skipper was wary none-the-less. The girls father, Sam Masters was, one of the US Military's top engineers. Supposedly he was working on a project that would revolutionize modern surveillance of hostile territories. Three day's ago he had left home for work and never arrived. The same day her father disappeared a woman had shown up at Anne's school posing as a police officer tried to take her away. Luckily the man in charge of school security had identified the woman as Rhonda, an Agent of Finius Doufinium and intervened, rescuing the girl before she was even aware of the situation. Serena Masters was a wreck, all in one day she had almost lost her entire family and in her desperation she had gone to her husbands colleagues for help. They had turned her to Skipper and his boys. If anyone in the business could protect the girl from Finius Doufinium it was the two former Seals and their own semi-mad scientist.

Skipper ground his teeth together as he watched the two from behind his binocular sunglasses. The boy so casually had allowed them to be placed in an inner-tube with complete strangers! Granted, the boy hadn't been told of the situation and the strangers were three giggling teenage girls that eyed him hungrily. Each wearing bikini's that he was quite positive even Rico would have trouble finding someplace to hide a weapon inside. But the fact was that Doufinium was after the girl and he would take any measures, hire anyone, to capture her. He was certain that the crazed scientist had captured her father for the plans he was building for the military. Having his daughter would definitely be incentive for Sam Masters to talk.

Skipper's eyes followed the young man and his charge as they screamed and smiled the entire way down the twists and turns of the water slide. Slipping in and out of his sight as they disappeared into and out of enclosed tubes throughout the length of the slide. Fanning himself against the August heat, he allowed himself to be grateful that it was late enough in the season that the park wasn't too packed. Children scattered in all directions laughing madly as they played. Parents and teenagers reclined in pool chairs or flirted with strangers. He kept his eyes peeled for trouble and swore to himself that he wouldn't let Doufinium get his hands on the girl. Her capture would signal her death sentence as well as her fathers. The sound of metal scrapping on concrete brought his eyes away from the child and back to acknowledge his soldiers, returning from a surveillance round of the park.

The two men sat in the available chairs, Rico kicking off his sandals and putting his feet up onto the table, wiggling his toes with an odd grin of pleasure. Richard Kowalski handed him the digital camera as he fanned himself with a napkin, brushing his chin length hair from his eyes then cleaning a spot on his glasses. Since their departure thirty minutes before they had both acquired new henna tattoos and a large sack from one of the parks many gift shops. He raised an eyebrow at Rico, who was slurping loudly from a large souvenir cup. "Souvenir shopping on the job men? I told you earlier we would have time for fun after the kids left. This is hardly the time." The mute man grinned widely around his straw, distorting the long scar that traveled from the center his collarbone, up his throat then slashed across the left side of his mouth, as Kowalski fished a baseball cap from the sack and presented it to Skipper. Putting it on and observing his reflection in the napkin dispenser he had to admit that it made him look rather dashing and did wonders to keep the sun off of his face.

"After receiving many accusing stares, I realized that we were extremely suspicious looking. I felt it necessary that we partake in some amusement park activities lest the security began to wonder why two grown men were wandering around an amusement park meant mainly for children, alone."

Skipper nodded and snatched the sack from Kowalski, examining the contents. "Good thinking men," it contained various stuffed animals, no doubt won from carnival games by Rico, and Skipper wondered if the man had placed any bets on his games and if he had, how much more cash did he have now than when they had left. A grin and a snicker as the manic man snatched an extremely pink rabbit and began loosening the stitches made Skipper believe it must have been quite a bit. There was a photograph from one of the parks more exciting roller coasters that he couldn't help but raise an amused eyebrow over. "But I hope that you have more to report about than cheated teenagers and the height and speed of a roller coaster." Kowalski had the decency to look embarrassed while Rico chuckled next to him. Skipper noticed that at some point in time they had purchased matching necklaces as well.

"We haven't spotted any known agents of Dr. Doufinium. There were a few suspicious characters that we were keeping an eye on, but they just ended up being regular purse snatchers and pedophiles. Rico snapped a few fingers, broke a few arms and we moved on." Rico's chuckling took on a dark tone and his grin became slightly crazed, revealing a few sharp teeth as he cracked his knuckles. Quite a few families at the surrounding tables picked up their children and ran. He watched them go, waving at the brave few who choose to look back with the pink rabbit's now disconnected arm. Kowalski snatched the mutilated toy from his hands and shoved all of the pieces and stuffing back into the sack. "After a few circulations of the main park, we decided to reconvene here in the water park with you to discus the next course of action."

Skipper nodded turning his eyes back to Anne and her tutor. They had moved on to another attraction. A sort of water themed playground, with a huge jungle-gym like structure in the middle with climbing nets, water canons, water slides and a giant bucked that poured huge amounts of water over the side every five minutes . Ace Jameson was watching Anne from the edge of the water as she mingled with other children, climbing to the top to ride one of the many slides.

"Good job men! Take a few minutes to get something to eat and resume your rounds. I'm going to talk to the tutor." Standing, he took off his short sleeve button up over shirt, revealing a plain white wife beater. He adjusted his sunglasses and traded his new cap for the floppy hat on Kowalski's head before slipping off his sandals and heading off barefoot in the direction of the playground area called 'Monsoon Lagoon'. He passed one the free sunscreen stations and began forming a plan in his mind. He stopped and squeezed a liberal amount into his hands, applying it messily to his shoulders and arms, making sure that he didn't quite get it all rubbed in. Then repeated the action with his face.

He kept a close eye on Ace Jameson as he dodged through running and laughing children as he made his way to the playground. The girls from the waterslide had followed him to the playground and were trying to capture his attention by splashing him flirtatiously. He couldn't help but notice that, though the boy responded to the girls attentions politely, he had never taken his eyes off the little girl he was responsible for. Skipper grudgingly acknowledged that the boy seemed to be a responsible young man. As the girls grew bored by his inattentiveness and as they left Skipper made his move.

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A/N: Monsoon Lagoon is a real ride/attraction/playground/thing at a family owned theme park in Santa Clause Indiana called Holiday World. It's a fun park and no matter how many times I ride awesome rides at Six Flags or other parks I always long for the free drinks of Holiday World, that's right, free drinks! There are Oasis stations set up throughout the park where you can get free drinks, Six Flags can't beat that!

No Flames Please, they hurt and make me sad.


	2. Chapter 2

**This Chapter has been re-written since it was first posted!**

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Flightless

Chapter Two

Ace smiled and waved to Anne as the tiny blonde charged up the climbing ropes, her sea green eyes shining as she headed for the opportune spot to stand when the giant bucket on top of the structure dropped its load of one thousand gallons of water. She stood in a gaggle of children all staring upwards intently, jumping excitedly and some, having dragged unsuspecting parents into the water, giggling madly at the joke they were pulling. As the wall of water came crashing down they all jumped and screamed, most from pleasure and some from shock. Surprised adults ran from the water wringing out their hair or wiping their eyes as their children disappeared back into the water and Ace couldn't help but laugh. Anne had tried to catch him with that trick, but he had still been enough of a child when they added Monsoon Lagoon to the water park and knew exactly where to stand to not get wet.

Maggie, Tori and Megan had finally grown tired of his polite but distant attitude and had taken themselves elsewhere. He felt bad for not spending the time to explain to the three of them why he was so disinterested in their advances and _still _wouldn't be even if he hadn't come to the park without a small child to take care of. He probably would have enjoyed spending time with the girls, pointing them in the direction of young men that would be much more receptive of their attentions. But the facts stood that he was indeed the only guardian of a small child today. And with all the uneasy airs and tension he had felt when he picked her up this morning, he was sure that he needed to be even more attentive to her than he normally would be.

He laughed as Anne took possession of one of the many water cannons and opened fire on children around her. They retaliated by running to the other canons and returning fire. Ace knew what her father did for a living. When he had first applied for the job as her personal tutor he had been shocked that he wasn't assaulted by armed guards the moment he set foot on the premises. He was constantly worried that he father, or the head of security would dig too deep into his records. Every time something went wrong in the home he expected to be hauled away for questioning. But he hadn't been. Even when he arrived to pick up Anne this morning and felt the tension and unease. He had expected Serena to tell him that the trip was canceled, that he should never come back, but she hadn't. But the look in her eyes when she stood by the window of the passenger side door, making sure that Anne's seatbelt was buckled safely, and told them to be safe had scared Ace. Something was wrong, he had wanted to cancel the trip himself at that moment. But Anne was so excited and she had worked so hard for this trip that, like her mother, he hadn't been able to keep her from it. He had looked deep into her mothers eyes and promised her that he would keep her daughter safe.

Anne's aim with the water gun's was perfect and he threw up his arms, wailing in false agony as the stream hit his bare chest. He sunk down into the low water, crawling forward and jumping into the air to latch onto the bars beside her. She shrieked, laughing and took off across a rope ladder. Grinning he prepared to pull himself over the railing and give chase, when he heard a voice next to his ear.

"Excuse me kid, have you seen a little boy running around with short black hair, blue eyes?" Ace dropped off the bars turning to glance at the man beside him and he felt his shoulders and back tense up, immediately classifying this man as a threat. A floppy hat sat on his head and his eyes were hidden behind a dark pair of sunglasses similar to Ace's. So he didn't resist an appreciative and appraising glance up and down the strangers body. He was well built, he clearly worked extremely hard at keeping himself in shape and was dressed in trunks and a tight fitting white wife beater, barefoot. The mans posture was relaxed, slightly slouching, but Ace could see the faint scars on his skin and the slight tension in his muscles. Ready to strike. The man was a threat, but Ace couldn't stop his heart from fluttering as the man took off his sunglasses revealing a pair of beautiful sapphire blue eyes. "Johnny took off the second he finished changing. Think he was wearing his orange trunks, with some weird cartoon monkey on 'em."

"I haven't seen a specific kid like that, but it's a big park. Are you sure that he came this way?" Ace scanned the children playing in the water, searching for the child he knew didn't exist but wished against all odds was there. Of course, there was no such child and as he looked at him discreetly from the corner of his eye, Ace saw the man's eyes dart to Anne. Immediately a wave of terror and cold fury surged through his body. This man was a threat to Anne! A huge threat, there was no way he could possibly fight this man. He needed to think up a plan to get him to leave or create a chance for them to run. As he saw children rushing to a large group he got an idea. "Look. There are a bunch of kids there! Lets go see if he is with them, I'll help you look." Ace grabbed at the other mans wrist. Fighting the urge to shiver, for more reason then one, and dragged him towards the group of children. He cast a glance around for Anne and found her at the top of the structure, fourth in line for the top slide.

The man tensed and hesitated slightly which settled the matter in Ace's mind. He wasn't a father, if he had really lost his child he would be more worried. Finally he gave up and allowed Ace to drag him to the group of children. They were all staring skyward and Ace wondered if that would ruin his plan. How well did the stranger know the park? Would he be expecting this? But the strange man was too busy trying to _appear _to be searching through the children to realize they were waiting on something. Ace grinned as he mentally started the countdown.

10

More children were gathering. Anne was now third in line, she saw him and waved.

9

The man had reached a hand to his ear listening to something.

8

He glanced to the edge of the water.

7

He looked worried.

6

The huge bucket started to tip.

5

Children were dancing with excitement

4

The man turned back to Ace.

3

Surely he wouldn't attack him here? In the midst of all these children.

2

Ace prepared for an attack

1

"Thank you for your help kid, but I think he's probably moved on to somewhere else. Thanks again for your-"

The man was cut off as a one thousand gallon waterfall plummeted down on their heads. Ace saw the mans eyes shut instinctively and ran. Anne was at the bottom of the slide wading towards them smiling. He snatched her from the water and she squeaked in surprise. He charged past shocked parents wringing out their hair and wiping their eyes, scolding their children for playing such a practical joke on them. Anne was asking him what was wrong but he didn't answer her. He splashed out of the water, his feet pounding on the burning concrete as he dodged between parents and children receiving angry glances and curses. They needed to get out of the park! They needed to get on the road, back home! He needed to call Serena and demand that she tell him what was going on. Somewhere deep in his heart he wanted to call his father, but he buried it. He had walked away from that man, he wouldn't call on him for protection now. He glanced backwards once, but the man was gone.

He slowed only when they reached the lockers glancing to and fro, searching for other threats. Anne was protesting and he put her down ushering her into the isle and hopping slightly as he slipped the bracelet with the locker key off of his ankle and handed it to her. At his urging she opened the locker and quickly pulled her shorts and shirt on over her swimsuit, complaining about how she was going to be wet the whole ride home, but Ace didn't listen, he scanned the crowd with his eyes, no one. Pulling on his shirt he slipped his feet into his sandals, wishing that he had worn tennis shoes, then he took Anne's hand and they made their way to the parking lot.

He kept a nervous watch on the crowd and was anxiously squeezing Anne's hand, she protested, begging to know what was wrong. Why were they leaving so early? A commotion erupted. The sound of gunshots caused a terrified stamped of people. He hauled Anne into his arms, checking to make sure that his keys and wallet were in his pockets before dropping the bag that held their towels and souvenirs. The crowd surged around them, pushing them forward, towards the exit. Until they found their way blocked by an imposing figure in black. Ace was momentarily confused by the parting of the crowd until he noticed the gun. But by the time he had turned to run another figure had closed in behind them. 'Shit!' he thought, pulling Anne close to him and turning in a circle searching for a way out. They were surrounded, he kneeled guarding Anne with his body. No! He wouldn't let them hurt her! He was preparing himself for a fight when the black suited men made an opening in the circle. Ace could not help himself from staring in horror at the glowing cybernetic red eye as the man stepped forward. Anne was crying loudly into his shoulder and his stomach was churning. Why? Why did it have to be him? Despite his terror he gathered the shreds of his strength and whispered the mans name, "Finius Doufinium."

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A/N: A friend and I did that to our mothers once. We stood right where the waterfall would hit and called them over to us. Silly them for listening. A lot of kids succeed in tricking their parents into that trap, its weird because they KNOW the bucket is going to drop, but they fall for it anyway.


	3. Chapter 3

**This Chapter has been re-written since it was first posted!**

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Flightless

Chapter Three

They had returned to their rounds of the main park five minutes before, seeing the ice cream stand Rico had latched onto his wrist and pulled. Not letting go until they had reached the counter. The tall man with the purple streaked fauxhawk had terrified the staff by his undistinguishable noises as he pointed at the flavor chart until Kowalski had stepped up to inform the teenagers what exactly he wanted. They meandered back to their rounds afterwards and Kowalski had been licking the last of his mint chocolate chip ice cream when a bullet came shrieking through the air; shattered the cone in his hand. Immediately he and Rico dropped beneath the nearest table, turning it on its side and using it as a shield. All around them civilians were screaming in terror. Concrete shattered and dust flew up into the air as bullets rained down on them. They needed a better shelter, the table wouldn't hold up for long. Rico pulled a mirror from his pocket and used it to glance around the table, searching for the shooters location as Kowalski shouted into the communicator.

"Skipper!" Bullets continued to pepper the table and the rubble around them. Families ran, screaming. for cover. Dropping their belongings and snatching up their children as the ran. From the corner of his eye he saw the large head of a costumed character go flying as the actor ran. "Rico and I are under fire! Assailant unknown." Rico was snarling as he searched for the shooter, a low dangerous sound. He pulled a pair of Desert Eagle's from a concealed location and darted from behind the table to return fire. "Rico is engaging, but we don't know how many assailants there are. Requesting back up Sir!" He didn't wait for a response, snatching up the gun that Rico had left behind for him as he took off after him.

Skipper was running. The soles of his wet feet were burning on the concrete, but he didn't notice. He jumped over the barrier separating the main park from the water park. His men, his comrades, his friends were in danger! He was surrounded by men, women and children screaming, fleeing from the sounds of gunshots. They were blocking the path. He fought to get through them, but they were blind in their panic. Stampeding like a herd of wild horses. He cursed considering drawing his own weapon to make them clear the way. But that could possibly cause some of the people in the crowd to attack him and he couldn't afford anything to get in his way, his friends couldn't afford it. He spotted a short barrier wall to his left and he jumped onto it, sprinting towards the sounds of the shots. His blood was pounding in his ears, roaring over the screams of the crowd, over the sound of the gunshots. His heart was pounding in his chest, a rapid beat as he ran. His friends, he would save his friends.

When he rounded the final corner he took in the sight in an instant. The concrete ground was destroyed, turned to rubble and dust from the high speed impact of the bullets. Remains of what had once been tables and chairs were strewn through the rubble along with what had once been purses, backpacks, and stuffed animals. Kowalski and Rico had fallen back to a defendable position in what appeared to have once been a food stand. They crouched behind the counter. Kowalski, with blood dripping from a shallow wound on his left shoulder, holding tight to a small child that had gotten separated from his family in the confusion. Rico occasionally popped up and fired an AK-47 in the direction of the enemy. Skipper dodged behind the remains of a table as he searched for the shooter, drawing his own gun when he caught sight of him.

He ducked low, half running and half rolling towards the stand and joined his friends, grabbing Kowalski's gun from him as he fired on the enemies position forcing him into the light. Among all of Dr. Doufinium's Agents, Agent 13 was the top marksman. When he stepped from the shadows he was grinning. Then he shouldered his weapon and ran. Skipper blood froze in his veins and he cursed. Agent 13 was the top marksmen! There was no way that he would have missed any of them in this dingy little shed. Unless he was missing them on purpose.

"Damn it!" Skipper vaulted over the remains of the counter. "It was a diversion!" He didn't waste any time pursuing Agent 13. Rico and Kowalski followed close behind him, pausing only long enough to see that the child was safely deposited in a gift shop where he was sure to be found. But that was long enough for Skipper to lose them as he ran on in pursuit, still screaming, now to himself. "He knew that I was tailing the girl so he had to draw me away!"

Sprinting he rounded a corner only have a figure in black and white thunder past them, a much smaller figure in pink with long blonde hair cradled, screaming, in his arms. Skipper barely recognized it as Anne and her tutor before three thugs in black rounded the corner after them. They came to an abrupt halt however when Rico came streaking around the corner and met them head on with a psychotic smile and a baseball bat lifted with his thanks from the gift shop. Kowalski joined the fight, wielding a sack containing a huge quartz crystal. He motioned for Skipper to go after the girl as the sack connected with one of the thugs head.

Skipper took off after the girl, he was confident that Kowalski and Rico could handle the thugs alone. He could see the young man dashing around corners and through rides ahead of him; Anne riding piggy back. As he chased he closed the distance but he couldn't help but wonder about the boy. He was fast and his running style had form, he had no wasted movement in his steps. It almost seemed like the boy had training, maybe he was on his schools track and field team? Skipper saw Anne looked back over her shoulder and cursed as shouted for the boy to run faster.

"Ace wait!" He needed the kid to stop, running like this was getting them nowhere but lost. They needed to get back to Rico and Kowalski, then they needed to get the girl out of the park. "I was hired by Anne's father, I'm a bodyguard!" He was drawing level with them now. Ace glared and sped up his steps, but screamed back.

"If you were hired by her parents then you should know that they have a safe word, a password for Anne to make sure that any guards she doesn't know are real. So, what's the password then?"

Skipper cringed, he hated the password. It was immature, something a five year old girl would come up with and not hard to guess at all. But then again, he supposed, Anne was still a girl, even if she wasn't five. "Rainbows, the password is rainbows." Ace slowed to a stop, regarding him coolly, but he didn't let Anne climb down. Skipper turned back in the direction of Rico and Kowalski, they needed to get back. "Okay kid, this is a very dangerous situation. I need to know that you will follow my orders to keep that girl safe." A quick scan of the area revealed thugs closing in on them from every direction. He cursed, quickly backing Ace into a corner.

"Ah Skipper! I had wondered if you would fall for our bait. It's a pity that these fools couldn't even manage to capture a child while you were distracted." Dr. Finius Doufinium stood blocking the way back towards exit of the park, Agent 13 grinning by his side, accompanied by an small army of thugs. He was smiling in a manner that once upon a time would have been considered charming. But the glowing red cybernetic eye set in the metal wrap around his face ruined what might have been. "Of course I knew that you would go to them and give us a wonderful opportunity. You would not dare loose anymore friends to me. Not after the last two, what where their names again?" Skipper growled dangerously as the mention of Manfredi and Johnson ripped open old wounds on his heart. As Doufinium's cybernetic eye captured the expression he grinned, "Its just so hard to remember old plaything's when they have been dead and gone for so long. Then again, how is Rico? It's always nice to see the one that got away."

Skipper tensed, Doufinium knew how to play him like a fiddle. That cybernetic eye recorded everything, every word, every action and reaction to be reviewed at anytime to seek out the weaknesses in his enemies. It had long ago that he discovered Skipper's devotion to his friends and comrades. The first time that he had revealed that eye, before he became power corrupt, Skipper had known that it would cause trouble. But Doufinium had been a friend once, a friend who needed that eye and metal wrap to work the left side of his brain, to still see. He had overlooked his unease and his friends had paid for it. At a nod from Doufinium thugs were closing in. He could hear Anne crying behind him, Ace was panting with exhaustion. He remembered his promise, he would not let Doufinium get this girl! Then a series of fast clicks was heard over his communicator and Skipper smiled.

"Well, Dr. Blowhole," Doufinium glared, red eye contracting into a pin prick of light, he didn't care much for that nickname. It not only implied that he talked to much. But it was a jab at how similar his name was to the aquatic mammal. "I have to admit you're right about that." He heard the roar of the engine first, "I'll always be loyal and devoted to my friends. And I'm happy to say my friends share that sentiment!"

Doufinium shouted for his men to move, he heard the engine as well, but they were much too slow. The huge black SUV crashed through the pathways, smashing tables and gates easily and plowed through henchmen. Agent 13 was glaring, shouting and firing frantically, trying to organize the group against the assault vehicle but there was no point. Kowalski had personally modified all of their vehicles with his own and each was specially bulletproofed.

Behind the wheel Rico swerved, laughing madly and drove straight at Doufinium, but the scientist was dragged into a retreat by Agent 13. Sliding to a halt in front of the small group the rear door flew open and Skipper shoved Anne and Ace inside quickly following behind them. Rico again floored it and the monster SUV roared alongside its driver as he took off after Doufinium. But when he made to chase him deeper into the park Skipper slapped him upside the head, yelling. "Rico! Fun later, right now we need to secure the kids!" Frowning and muttering Rico gave in and drove out of the gates. Speeding away in the opposite direction of the incoming police cars towards headquarters.

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A/N: So Rico is a master of concealed weaponry. Don't ask me how he smuggled two handguns and an AK-47 into a amusement park, ask him!


	4. Chapter 4

**This Chapter has been re-written since it was first posted!**

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Flightless

Chapter Four

Anne and Serena were going to disappear. The tall one behind the wheel had driven like a madman the entire way back to the Masters home. Anne had sat squarely in his lap, attached to his shirt the entire time, sobbing. No one would tell him anything. He had done everything short of screaming to get their attention then and they had ignored him. When they arrived at Anne's home they had taken her from him and ordered him to stay in the vehicle. The man called Skipper had given them the number of a man who could hide them from Doufinium. Serena and Anne had disappeared with their closet guards, Ace hadn't even been allowed to say goodbye. The three men had piled back into the SUV, again not saying a word to him, and they had left.

Now he sat, fidgeting in his chair. The man, Skipper, who quite obviously had no son and was apparently a professional bodyguard had pushed him into this chair when they arrived wherever it was they were and told him to stay put. He was nervous, the memory of the glowing red eye engrained forever into his memory. Why was a dangerous criminal like Doufinium after Anne? It must have had something to do with her father. Ace knew that he was working on a huge project for the military right now. The realization that Sam had not been there to see them off on their trip this morning brought all of the pieces together. It broke his heart to realize that Anne would probably never see her father alive again.

Leaning back in the chair he stared mournfully at the ceiling. It was flat, not paneled, no craggy like some cheap ceilings. No cracks in it either. There was no doubt in his mind that Doufinium had captured Sam and when he was told how close his daughter had come to being captured he would break and spill all the secrets that Doufinium wanted from him. Ace felt his eyes start to water, if he had talked he would be dead. If he kept quite he would still be dead. There was no winning once Doufinium had you in his clutches. Doufinium didn't let people go. People did not escape from him. He leaned forward and put his head in his hands to hide the tears building his eyes. It was tragic, Sam Masters had been a good man.

He looked through his fingers at the only man left in the room. The tallest of the three he was sitting in a rolling computer chair sliding between a row of monitors, clicking away madly on a wireless keyboard settled on his lap. He was favoring his left arm and Ace vaguely remembered seeing that shoulder bleeding during the drive back. He wondered when they had bandaged it but pause when he heard something. The man was talking to himself. He was currently working on the middle monitor. Leaning in close and squinting through his large circular glasses.

"You've really made this too easy for me. It's true that computers are the way of the future, but really? No hard copies of your security footage? Foolish, just a few clicks here a few clicks there and none of us were ever there. A few more clicks and all your security footage would be gone, but don't worry, I wouldn't do that to you." He rolled the chair to another monitor as the door opened and the last two men re-entered the room. A printer whirred to life in a corner and Ace sat up, wiping discreetly at his eye's as the handsome man with sapphire blue eyes, Skipper he reminded himself, approached him.

"Well Ace Jameson, you've really gotten yourself into a tight spot haven't you." The tall man with the fauxhawk and scar grabbed a printout and handed it to Skipper. He had an air about him that told Ace that he was right in assuming that he was in control of the entire operation. "Ace Jameson, age 21," this seemed to surprise him and Ace couldn't help but blush and scowl at the same time. Everyone thought he was a teenager have the time the bars in this country told him that his ID was fake and wouldn't let him order alcohol. "Junior at NYU. Hired by Sam Masters to tutor his ten year old daughter. Promised her that if she passed all her midterms you would take her to an amusement park."

Ace felt the color drain from his face. How much of his background had they been able to dig up? Mathew, who was the smartest man that he knew and the best with computers, had assured him that his information was hidden so deeply in the system that no one would be able to dig it up. And even if they had managed that surely no one would string two and two together with so few facts that held them together. But he hadn't counted on getting mixed up in some weird operation like this. Would Mathews assurances last against their searches?

"Who are you guys? What's going to happen to Anne and her mom? What's going to happen to me?" Suddenly fear ripped through him like a lightning strike. If these guys could dig up his information so could Doufinium! His father and Mathew would be fine, there was no point even sparing them a worry but Marlene. "Oh no! My roommate! Do you think she'll be in danger?" He grabbed his cell phone from his pocket, but Skipper put up a hand that caused him to pause.

"Slow down compadre! One question at a time, we are an elite team of bodyguards. We were hired by Serena Master's in the instance that the worst were to happen, which it did. If we hadn't been there you two would have been fish food." He noticed that Skipper didn't come out and say that Sam Masters had been captured by Doufinium. But then again, why should he? For all intended purposes Ace Jameson was simply a civilian who had stumbled into the path of a very strange very evil man. He probably thought it best to keep him in the dark about his attackers identity and background. "As for your roommate. It would probably be in her best interest if she evacuated the premises for awhile. Now, what is going to happen to you?" He smiled and Ace's heart fluttered, he resisted the urge to bang his fist against his chest to make it stop. Now was not the time for swooning! "That's completely up to you. You can go back to your school or you could go underground like Anne and her mom. But I have a proposition for you if you'll hear me out."

Ace couldn't help but notice the man's confidante air. His eyes were drawn towards his toned arms and his strong jaw line covered by stubble. Despite his best efforts to distract himself he couldn't help but imagine touching it. Giving himself a strong mental slap he tried to pay attention to what the handsome, strong, well built, another slap, man was saying.

"I was watching you at the park. You noticed that right off the bat didn't you? I can tell that you've had some sort of tactical training in the past, probably some martial arts worked into the mix as well. You've got some useful skills Ace." He felt himself flush with pride, "I think that I could refine and use those skills. I'm offering you a position as a part of this team. You'd start out as a low rank, a Private. But you'd get training and the protection of the team. I think you've got some great potential and you would get to help people."

Ace sat back in his seat, his head reeling. He had great potential? How many people besides his mother and father had ever told him that? Well, Marlene had that one Halloween, but she definitely was talking about his legs, fishnet stockings and a very short skirt. A completely different situation. He felt himself blushing. "Could I please have some time to think about it please? Also I need to call my roommate to make sure she's okay." Skipper nodded and he excused himself to the hallway. The phone only rang once.

"Ace? Where are you? Are you okay? I heard that something had happened at the park and Mathew showed up looking for you." Ace cringed, if Mathew had come to find him that meant that his father was already aware of the situation. But that also meant that Marlene had a small semblance of protection. He vaguely remembered seeing a café across the street and told the three men inside the computer room that he was going across the street to get a drink.

"Marlene has anyone else shown up looking for me?" The street was busy, he had to wait for the light. "Yeah, there was some big guy. He asked if you were home and when I said no he asked if he could come in and wait. I told him you wouldn't be back until the new semester started in a couple days and I think he left. This guy wasn't on your list of people not to let into the apartment, but," she paused, her voice shaking. "Ace he scared me. Like, really scared me. Even the guys on your list of not to let into the apartment don't scare me that much."

Crossing the street he glanced into the café windows and confirmed his suspicions. "Marlene, I think you should go home for the rest of the break okay? Just get out of the apartment for awhile. When you come back try to stay with a friend. If that guy or anyone else approaches you call Mathew, you've still got his number right?" With her affirmation he opened the door to the café and slipped inside. "I've got go for now but I'll call you back later. Okay?" Flipping the phone closed he sat down at the table and took the drink that was pushed his way.

"Hello Father."


	5. Chapter 5

**This Chapter has been re-written since it was first posted! Some MAJOR, IMPORTANT, NEW CONTENT WAS ADDED!**

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Flightless

Chapter Five

Dr. Finius Doufinium smiled as Sam Masters heart fluttered to a halt, his eyes were still wide open with terror. The man had been amusing, the second his darling little girls green eyes had shone up on the monitor in from of him screaming and crying the man had broken. He didn't even have to have caught the girl! Just knowing that the monster had been near enough his little girl to make her cry had been enough. Waving for a henchmen to dispose of the body he made his way back to his lab. The glowing eye wirelessly uploaded the session onto the mainframe of the main computer bank as he walked and he thought fondly of watching it again. He waved down a lackey, running on some errand for someone, and sent him to fetch popcorn.

The door slid open as he entered, the weapon prototype was on a table in the center of the room. Now that he had the information on the stealth technology that Masters and his team had been developing he would be able to complete it. But as he finally set about preparing his tools he found himself already bored with the project. Sighing he flopped down in his floating egg shaped chair and, on a whim, brought up the ancient footage of the torture of Manfredi and Johnson. He hadn't been lying. The two had screamed gloriously well and it was only fair that he kept this footage of them. After all, they had created the original designs. The giant monitor on the wall flickered to life and he lost himself in his memories as screams filled the room.

He was still working with the Military back then. Working with a part of a Seals until, testing his creations in the field with his assistant, Johnson. She had been a pretty little thing, with a soft voice that seemed to twinkle as she laughed. She had been bright too. Although, falling in love with the field doctor wasn't something that he could qualify as smart. Nodding to himself Finius acknowledged that falling in love with Manfredi had been the beginning of the end of Johnson. True they had worked together amazingly. He owed the fact that he was still alive to them. A fact that must drive Skipper absolutely insane.

His eyes narrowed as the lackey arrived with his popcorn, staring in shock at the torture being displayed on the monitors. As he practically ran from the room Finius decided that the next time there was a body to clean up, that boy would get the job. Lazily tossing the fluffy, buttered kernels into his mouth he wondered what Skipper had thought when the man had first found him with half of his head blown off. To this day Finius still didn't know what went wrong. Narrowing his remaining eye he decided that Johnson had probably done something wrong, something not up to specifications while she was daydreaming over Manfredi. But they had managed to but him back together for the most part. And what they couldn't replace, Johnson had rebuilt.

Of course, he had redesigned his headset forever ago. The original was lost somewhere, in a storage room with other old useless things. Munching on his popcorn Finius discovered that he had become bored again, sifting through old memories like that. He dismissed the ancient footage and brought up something more recent and must more entertaining.

He sat back amused as he watching the scene unfold. Skipper hadn't been happy to see him, the expression of hatred on his face was intense enough that it gave him goosebumps. He paused the footage when he heard himself mention Manfredi and Johnson. And was positively delighted by what he saw. The hatred was still there, burning intently on the surface. But deeper down he could see it, the anguish that he still felt for not being able to save his friends. And the guilt, believing that somehow, everything was somehow his fault. It made Finius positively gleeful.

The two hadn't really kept him interested long after he decided that he wanted them to die, but the sight of Skipper breaking so completely at the sight of their broken and mangled bodies had made up for it. His only regret was that the mangy mutt of his best friend had managed to escape somehow. Finius had never figured that out either. But the mutt was a mystery, he always had something hidden somewhere. Without a constant guard it was inevitable that he would escape. He made a mental note to remember to assign a permanent guard when he finally managed to catch him again. Or maybe he could just get a hold of the new one, that might keep the mutt in his place.

The monitors image flickered again and slowly refocused on the boy. Intel said that he was Ace Jameson, age 21, a junior at NYU, he was studying criminal law enforcement. He lived in an apartment with Marlene Marshall, an apartment that was now deserted. And, as irritating as it was, that was all the information he could find. No birth certificate, no parents names, no history what so ever, that infuriated him. There was something else though, the boy had recognized him. An apparent civilian with no history had called him by name. And there was a disturbing nagging in his mind that something was disturbingly familiar about his appearance. But in all his searches he could find nothing linking the boy to his criminal organization, or any criminal organization.

Taking a quick screenshot of his face Finius sent out a mass email to all of his distinguished associates. He was mildly surprised when a reply appeared almost immediately in his inbox.

"If you mess with this boy you will regret it."

There was no address and after several useless attempts he could not track the email. The computer monitor smashed against the prototype, destroying both. No one told Finius Doufinium who he could or could not play with! No one dared! He roared out the door for someone to come in and clean up the mess. Throwing the half empty bowl of popcorn among the mess. Again he looked at the frozen image on the wall monitor and he brought himself under control. He reached up, running his hand down the image of his cheek and he chuckled. It really had been much to long since he had played with Skipper and his soldiers. And it appeared that this boy had some special secrets about him. Maybe it would be worthwhile to play with him. No doubt Skipper would take him into his ragtag group. He would let them get acquainted, then, he would play.


	6. Chapter 6

**This Chapter has been re-written since it was first posted!**

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Flightless

Chapter Six

Ace still wasn't used to emergency drills at the crack of dawn. However out of growing necessity he was learning. When the groaning and whirr noise of the pitching machine had once drawn him slowly to wakefulness, he was now waking much quicker. Drawing upon all the, meager, skills that he had learned and perfected over the last three weeks of intensive training he heard the rumble of the machine as he snapped awake and quickly flipped up the mattress as a shield against the attacking tennis ball "bullets." He crawled along the floor dragging the mattress beside him as quickly as possible until he made it to the window and slid it open, signaling the end of the drill.

As the machine ground to a halt he could hear Rico's raspy chuckling and Skipper, who always seemed to be much too cheerful and alert in the morning. "Good job Private! But if this were an actual attack you were moving so slow that an attacker could have walked right up behind you and shot you!" Ace heaved a sigh as he closed the window and hauled his mattress back to its frame and started to fix his sheets. "Don't worry though," assured Skipper as he moved to assist him, "We'll work on your speed and soon you'll even be aware of the door opening in your sleep." Ace couldn't help but doubt the statement, but he had no doubt in mind that Skipper would keep trying and trying until he either improved or he died.

Rico laughed as picked up the tennis balls and made a few choked noises as he rolled the pitching machine from the room. "Rico's right Private." Agreed Skipper, though Ace still had no idea how exactly they understood what their friend said. Ace tried to translate the few noises that the man could produce with his damaged vocal chords, but he had never succeeded yet. Most of the time his attempts were only received with laughter. At least Rico didn't take offense, he really didn't want to have the man angry with him. Ace was beginning to think that, despite how much he normally liked him, he might not be all right in the head. "That machine rolls so loudly that that should have woken you up on its own. But you just kept drooling and drifting around in your happy little dreamland."

Ace froze as he suddenly remembered the dream that had held him captive and he hadn't been willing to wake up from, even if it meant getting 'shot'. He quickly and discreetly checked to make sure that the dream hadn't given him an embarrassing physical reaction and that there was no reason to chase Skipper away before they moved the sheets any further. To his relief there was none. But the dream was still vivid in his mind. Lips and teeth grazing against his bare skin, sapphire blues eyes staring down at him.

A quiet cough broke the silence and he mental slapped himself. He had spaced out. Blushing furiously as the smirk on Skippers face he quickly finished with his sheets and ran towards the kitchen for breakfast. Skipper trailing close behind

Kowalski was in front of the stove, his glazed over eyes watching the last of the supply of eggs burn in the skillet. The metal spatula sat in the pan, blackening egg midway flipped. Rico pouted behind him a spatula shaped red mark across his left cheek. Ace made sure to go around them both as he pulled a few waffles out of the freezer and popped them into the toaster. He made sure that there was coffee brewing and seeing that it was done he poured a mug and carefully slid it towards Kowalski, preparing to duck and cover if the spatula came up swinging. Thankfully he didn't and he caught Skippers grateful glance as Kowalski latched onto the mug and drowned the scalding liquid.

He poured himself a mug and searched through the cabinets for syrup. There was a mission for the three of them today, for now he was still stuck inside headquarters running communications. But tomorrow that would change. Tomorrow would be his first day of field work. Sure he was just doing recon on a potential client, but he would be in the field! All by himself for most of the mission. Smiling he put his waffles on a plate and smothered them with maple syrup. Then he came face to face with Rico, still pouting as he watched his eggs burn. Grinning, he placed the plate of waffles in front of the older man, whose face lit up appreciatively, and prepared to make himself some more.

Later that day, after the successful completion of their mission Skipper had agreed that they would pick up a pizza on the way home and Private stayed rooted in Kowalski's computer chair. Now was probably his best chance to check. He had to know, he had to know what all they knew about him. Scanning the icons he came to a stop over a file titled "Threats." Raising an eyebrow he considered, and after a few moments he double clicked the icon.

They weren't arranged alphabetically, but by threat level, highest level of threat at the top and lowest at the bottom of the list. Not surprisingly Dr. Finius Doufinium was the first name on the list under the nickname "Dr. Blowhole." He remembered Skipper calling him that when they first met, but he didn't quite understand. He supposed that it must have been some sort of an inside joke.

He browsed through the files studying all the enemies that Skipper and his crew had met and made over the years until he came to the last name in the file. Electro Ray had the lowest threat level in the entire group. All of his crimes were theft and to date there were no casualties, hundreds of hospitalizations though.

"Of all the criminals that we've faced over the years, Electro Ray is the only one that I can really understand and relate too." Ace prided himself on the fact that he didn't shriek like a girl. Although he did jump almost foot in the air and nearly smacked into Skipper; who he hadn't even noticed was leaning over him. He tried to control his blush as he leaned back in the chair and gazed up through his eyelashes.

"What do you mean Skipper? He's still a criminal right? He hurts people."

Ace swallowed and jerked his eyes back to the screen as Skipper leaned against the back of the chair to pull up a video file. "You're right Private. He is still a criminal, he's a greedy thief who always gets what he wants." Skipper commandeered the mouse, their fingers brushed briefly and he had to keep himself from latching onto that hand, and played the only remaining video footage of Electro Ray. He wore a mask, unlike Doufinium and Ace stared as sparks jumped between the fingers of his electronic glove weapon. "But he doesn't kill. People get injured but no one is ever seriously hurt and everyone that ends up hospitalized after one of his thefts receives a mysterious anonymous bouquet of flowers."

Ace watched as Skipper and Rico came into the picture, he watched as they traded banter with the tall man with the long salt and pepper hair and the sky blue eyes. "As a matter of fact, he is probably one of the most feared criminals in the business because of that."

Ace was shocked. "But if he is feared so much why is he classified as so little a threat?" Skipper smiled and Ace swallowed, trying to force his heart back down into his chest.

"He is at the bottom of the list because has complete control over his henchmen. He isn't a threat to people, at least not innocent people. He is a threat to objects and theft is a problem for law enforcement, not bodyguards." Ace watched the video, watched as Skipper and Rico were soundly defeated, bound but not gagged. Electro Ray stayed and they appeared to chat as thugs carried the treasures from the room, then he left.

Slowly spinning Kowalski's chair in circles he wondered when Skipper had left. But he was grateful that he had, he needed sometime to think. He spun for a short time later before taking out his cell phone and dialing two on speed dial. He continued to spin as he waited for an answer.

"Hello Dad, what time did you say you wanted to meet for dinner?"


	7. Chapter 7

**This Chapter has been re-written since it was first posted!**

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Flightless

Chapter Seven

The Central Park Zoo was an odd meeting place to discuss a job. Crowded with people. Parents with children, and kid's on school tours, Ace was reminded of that day three weeks ago when his life had changed forever. The theme park had been crowded with people too. Ace leaned back slightly on his bench, sketchbook in hand as he sketched the figure of the otter playing in the water before him. He was incognito in a dark blue polo over a light blue long sleeve shirt. He wore khaki cargo shorts despite the fact that the now September winds were beginning to get quite chilly, eye catching orange Chuck Taylor high tops and a tan floppy hat to cover his communicator. The black sunglasses that covered his eyes contained a mini wireless camera that sent everything he saw back to Kowalski at headquarters.

His sketch of the otter was un-proportional, it irritated him slightly, but no amount of erasing and redoing it seemed to fix it. But then again, he wasn't here to work on his art as Kowalski would remind him every now and then. Instead he was watching the client. The man was alone and had arrived an hour and a half earlier than the meeting was scheduled for. Skipper and Rico had met up with him fifteen minutes ago and departed when the meeting was over. After they had left, the client remained at the Zoo, touring through the animal enclosures for another ten minutes before entering the parking lot and driving away. Ace's job was over, from here on it was Rico's job to tail him.

He glanced around the parking lot, searching for Skipper. He spotted him a few rows from the gate in one of the more discreet cars with the engine running. Politely weaving through visitors exiting the gates Ace started towards the car when a reflection of light caught his eye. He turned to get a closer look what ever it was he had seen, it was odd. It looked like a heat distortion, but that couldn't be because it was quite cool out. And it was a singular area. Kowalski was saying something in his ear, probably asking him to focus better on the distortion but Ace gasped as it flew away and without thinking he followed. It wasn't a bird. He could see a vague shape to it now. It looked more like a floating ball. He heard Skipper calling him, probably chasing him, but he didn't have time to explain. The ball was getting away, and it was fast.

He dodged between civilians as he tried to keep the plane in view. There were too many people here today! To many children that were getting in his way. Seeing his chance at a clear path he jumped onto a bench then onto a divider wall between the path and an enclosure. He heard visitors and Zoo staff screaming at him but he ignored them. Had that thing been watching him? Or was it watching Skipper? Was it watching the client? He didn't know either way, but he was absolutely sure that they needed to find out. The wall was quickly coming to an end, seeing his only change he leaped and snagged the thing from the air. He tried to drag it down, but it was powerful, rather than dragging it down to Earth with his body weight it pulled him higher into the air away from the wall and over the enclosures.

It bucked and spun, trying to throw him off. He couldn't keep a grip on the spherical shape. But now that he was close he could see it clearly. It was an orb, it looked sort of like an old web cam. Before he lost his grip he managed to catch sight of a logo but his fingers slipped and he was falling. His head smacked hard against the concrete island of the penguin enclosure and his vision exploded with colors. And oh god it hurt! As blackness set in he heard Skipper calling him, he thought he saw him jump towards him over the wall. But then again, he also would have sworn under oath that one of the penguins actually smiled and waved at him.


	8. Chapter 8

**This Chapter has been re-written since it was first posted!**

A/N: Update! Also, the beginnings of loooove! Ugh, I'm trying to use Private and Ace both when referring to Ace, but it gets confusing. I'm trying to follow Skippers thoughts as he goes from thinking of him as a solider to a friend. Someone tell me if it doesn't work!

Disclaimer: Yeah...nope. I don't own this.

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Flightless

Chapter Eight

Skipper paced quietly behind the chair he had dragged up next to the Private's bedside. The sun was beginning to set, obstinate rays shining right in through the window. He stormed over and after a quick look around the street, yanked the curtains closed. It had been three hours since he chased him at the zoo. He knew he had seen something, had been chasing something that Skipper couldn't see. Kowalski had acknowledged that there was definitely some disturbance in the air. After all, something had dragged him off that wall and into the penguin habitat. But they hadn't been able to get a good look of it. And there had been no time to pursue it.

People had been swarming, calling for security, demanding to know if the boy was okay. Asking what he had been doing. He had moved as fast as possible, jumping into the enclosure, tossing Private over his shoulder and sprinted back for the parking lot. At an order from Skipper Rico had ditched his target and returned to the zoo to pick them up. When they reached HQ Kowalski had done a quick medical check. The boy amazingly didn't seem to have a concussion, he needed some rest but he would be fine.

Skipper leaned over the edge of the bed and brushed Ace's black hair from his face. His face was completely relaxed in the dark recesses of sleep, eyelashes resting on his cheeks, his lips slightly parted. Sitting back down on the chair he rested his chin on his weaved fingers and sighed heavily, trying to sort out his thoughts.

Ace always brought up emotions that Skipper had thought had been squashed and snuffed out long ago. Smiling wide in his sleep the boy flipped over onto his side, snuggling deep into his pillow. Skipper felt a slight fluttering at the sight and he tried to summon an image to quell it, but it remained and increased as he continued to watch over the sleeping boy.

Sighing again he stood and resumed his pacing. It wouldn't do to ignore the fact that he felt an attraction to the Private, that wasn't hard to admit too. Rico and Kowalski both agreed that he was a handsome young man, a hardworking, caring, smart, funny handsome young man. But he had to think of the complications that could occur. If they pursued a relationship and it didn't work out, would that affect their teamwork? Pacing to the window Skipper sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He didn't know how Rico and Kowalski managed it. But then again, they had been together for years now. Surely there had been some problems in the beginning? He groaned. This wasn't the beginning of a relationship, he thought as he pushed back the curtain. There was just so much in the way. Such a thing would never work out.

Standing at the window watching the sunset Skipper couldn't help by let himself imagine what it could be like if it did work out. The mental images made him smile, but it quickly faded as the image of Doufinium crossed his mind. If Doufinium found out, Ace would be in even more danger than they normally faced. Doufinium was sick and obsessed, he could and would seriously hurt Ace. The familiar faces of Manfredi and Johnson flashed through his mind and, straightening his posture, he banished the happy illusions from his mind. His affections weren't worth putting the Private in that much danger.

"Skippah?"

Startled Skipper turned from the window, moving quickly to the bedside. Ace was blinking sleepily as he yawned. But right now Skipper was much more concerned about his mental state than quelling the butterflies throwing a party in his gut.

"You hit your head pretty hard Private, how are you feeling?"

"It was waving."

Skipper paused. That wasn't the response he was expecting, nor was it a good one. Then again Kowalski had said that he might be a bit loopy for awhile after he woke up. Then a realization struck and his eyes narrowed, Ace's speech pattern had changed. Did he have a concussion after all? Skipper sat on the edge of the bed and moved him into a sitting position, he needed him to stay awake and keep talking.

"What was waving Private, where?"

He giggled and again Skipper tried to shove away the blasted fluttering. He did not think that was cute! He strove to think of something else, anything to keep his head straight!

"The little penguin! Back as the zoo, I fell into it's habitat when I tried to catch Blowhole's spy plane then it waved at me! Isn't that cute!"

Skipper felt his blood freeze and in that instant all the fluttering ceased. Blowhole? As in Doufinium? He had been spying on them at the zoo, but why? Was it because they had a new member to the team or did he have some other motive? Ace was still talking and Skipper absently realized his speech pattern wasn't just changed, he was speaking with an accent!

"Skippah!"

He turned his gaze to the grinning fool beckoning him closer.

"Come'ere. I've got a secret to tell you!"

Leaning in close Skipper wondered if this was more information about the spy plane or the mysterious accent. Only to be shocked stiff when Ace fisted a hand into his shirt and dragged him forward, faster than a loopy, concussed man should be able to move and smashed their lips together.

Skipper fought hard to stay cold. He kept still, fighting every urge that told him to kiss back. Doufinium was already watching Ace for some reason. He didn't want to put him in more danger than he already was. However when Ace laid his head back onto the pillow, starring up with his big sky blue eyes and said,

"I love you Skippah."

He could feel his resolve shattering.


	9. Chapter 9

**This Chapter had been re-written since it was first posted! **

Flightless

Chapter Nine

Ace woke to a sharp pounding in his skull and the shrill ringing of his cell phone. Grimacing, he searched his night stand for the offending noisemaker. After finding it he glanced at the caller id and frowned. As he flipped it open and held it to his ear, he never had a chance to speak.

"Ace? Are you alright? Why haven't you been answering my calls? I saw a news report about you at the zoo! What happened? Did you go back to working for your dad? Are you not going to come back to school?"

Flopping back onto his pillow he groaned.

"Marlene, please! I've got a whopping headache. Just one question at a time please." Spying a glass of water on the night stand he took a sip before continuing. "I haven't returned your calls because I've only just woken up. I think that I'm okay, but I don't know how long I've been unconscious." Rubbing his eyes he thought back to his last memory. Falling into the penguin habitat, after that, nothing. Well…nothing coherent. His dreams had been rather odd. Waving penguins, Robin Hood like racoons and kissing Skipper. Blushing he tried to not think about that.

"No I haven't gone back to working for my father and I still don't know if I'll be coming back to school." There was silence on the other end and he frowned. "Marlene? Marlene are you still there?"

"I'm sorry Ace, but um, you're talking in an accent again. I got a little distracted." Rolling his eyes he informed her that he would call her back later and hung up. There was a chair beside his bed he noticed. Someone must have visited him, he blushed, thinking of Skipper watching him sleep and prayed that he didn't talked in his sleep anymore.

Standing, he stretched and made his way over to the window, pulling back the curtain to look out over the street. The sun was just beginning to rise. People were sleepily walking out to their mailboxes to get a newspaper, or to the cars to head for work. He yawned, stretching again until he heard a satisfying pop. The he grabbed his clothes and set off to take a shower.

There was steam pouring under the door when he knocked. Kowalski sounded a little strained as he quickly yelled, "We'll be out in a minute!" Ace nodded, as if Kowalski could see him. Shaking his head he decided that he must have simply heard him wrong and shuffled towards the kitchen. As he past the gym he heard the sounds of either Rico or Skipper exercising.

Opening the refrigerator he despaired over how empty it was. Inside sat an empty egg carton and a few Chinese takeout leftovers that he was sure were going to sprout legs any day now. He grabbed the almost empty bottle of orange juice and poured what was left of it into a glass and placed a piece of bread in the toaster. He put his clothes on the chair next to him as he waited for his toast to pop up. As he sipped his orange juice he switched on the telly-television, he corrected himself.

Finding a channel that was playing cartoons, he snatched his toast as it popped up and spread the last of the butter across a side. He ate slowly as he watched the antics of a young boy and his magical goldfish. He was halfway through the second fifteen minute episode when Kowalski entered the kitchen.

"Ace! You're awake!"

A huge smile spread across his face as he shook his hands through his damp hair.

"How long have you been awake?" He asked as he gave Ace a brief check over. "Are you feeling any nausea? Does your head or your eyes hurt?" Pulling away from his friend trying to pry his eyelids apart Ace shook his head in a negative. "Are you hungry.." Kowalski was cut off by the growling of his own stomach and blushing he turned to browse the cabinets. He found very little in the way of variety and turned to Ace.

"I guess I'm going to have to go grocery shopping, would you like to come with me? I need to debrief you on what happened at the zoo anyway." Ace nodded. A shopping trip with Kowalski would also be a good opportunity to ask him some questions that he had, and he was out of Peanut Butter Winkies cereal. And sugary cereal just wasn't something he could ask the older man to buy for him.

Grabbing his clothes he headed for the bathroom to find Rico stepping out, clad only in a towel. As he closed the door Ace had a clear view of his back. The first time he had seen it he had been astonished. His body was covered in old scars, several of which looked like they had been very serious injuries. He found it hard to believe that anyone could survive such horrible wounds. But Rico was still here.

He tried valiantly not to stare and to remain cheerful as he past his friend. Rico didn't seem to notice and chuckled wickedly as he let him pass. As he closed the door he wondered how Rico had managed to shower so fast.

A/N: Heheh, naïve Ace. Big thanks go out to **Alexis-Xymstic** and **x-KuroxShiroxAi-x**! I really appreciate everyone who reviews!


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